Temple Tuesday: Shirley (almost) gets a tattoo!

In the 1936 Shirley Temple film, “Captain January,” Shirley ALMOST got a tattoo! Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) summarized the deleted scene for me, which she came across when reading the original script. The scene that ended up on the cutting room floor would have followed the one where Captain January (Guy Kibbee) asks the Widow Croft (Jane Darwell) for a loan (shown above).

At that point, Jan asks Mrs. Croft for the money, and the next scene has Star walking along a side street, where she spies a tattoo shop.



She goes in and the “East Indian” man asks her if she has money. He shows her some tattoo samples, including a sea serpent. She asks “Can I make it wiggle?” and he responds that it would wiggle fine on her back. She decides to get it on her arm, and the man begins heating a needle in a flame.



He is just about to begin when Jan and Nazro pass by and burst into the shop. Jan swats Star and sends her home, then slams the basket of lobsters over the tattoo artist’s head. Nazro holds him down while Jan takes the tattoo needle and jabs it into the seat of the “East Indian” man’s pants!



These two publicity stills show that the scene was filmed, but obviously deleted before release. John Carradine was cast as the “East Indian Man” mentioned in the script. I can only surmise that the scene was deleted due to it being slightly unsavory for a Shirley Temple movie!



In an earlier sequence that survived the editor’s shears, Shirley watches with delight while January and Nazro (Slim Summerville) show off their tattoos and are able to make them dance and wiggle! This would have been the setup for Shirley’s character wanting to get a tattoo. Poor John Carradine was the loser, as he was completely removed from the film. Instead, he made it into the Temple film “Dimples” playing Richards. His character is one of the con men who get The Professor (Frank Morgan) to buy a cheap pocket watch by convincing him it once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.



Con men in a Temple film? No problem. A tattoo artist? No way!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Marilyn, Kim, Mary, Dick, and Fred

Despite the war in the Ukraine, COVID, inflation, rising oil prices, supply shortages, and an unsettling amount of civil unrest, somehow, the Kardashians managed to break through the headlines. In case you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably aware that Kim Kardashian squeezed her curves into a dress that was custom-made for Marilyn Monroe in 1962 by Jean Louis to wear on the occasion that she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy.



As you can see by the photos, this gown was designed to fit Marilyn. Not the average housewife, not soprano Maria Callas (on the left), and not Kim Kardashian.



Monroe's gown wasn’t just skin tight; it was more like a second skin and hugged every curve of the actress.  Jean Louis’ creation was an engineering feat of epic proportions that accentuated every curve but also kept those curves in place. The illusion of being nude without actually being so.



Years ago, the Franklin Mint attempted to capture that evening with a 16" doll.



Not quite the same.



This post was not designed to weigh into the controversy about whether Kim should or shouldn’t have worn the historic gown, nor will it delve into what damage may or may not have occurred because she and her handlers had to tug the delicate fabric over her rear end. But before I get to the point of the post, I will share Joan Cusack’s wise words from the film “Working Girl” (1988):



Now we get to the meat of the matter…the controversy that has been kept secret for years. Any Disney fan worth their salt will remember the “Jolly Holiday” number with Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews from “Mary Poppins” (1964):



Here’s Dick Van Dyke wearing his striped suit and straw hat from the animated musical sequence:



Seven years later, the TV show “Green Acres” was airing its last season.



You remember the classic comedy about a New York city socialite (Eva Gabor)



…who gives up her penthouse apartment to live in a dilapidated house so that her husband (Eddie Albert) can become a farmer.



On January 12, 1971, the season six episode “Son of Drobney” was broadcast. The premise was that the town was waiting to greet Lisa’s Hungarian war hero who was flying into Pixley to visit her. The welcoming committee was surprised to discover that he was a duck. When watching this the other night, I saw Fred Ziffel (Hank Patterson) wearing what looked to be Dick Van Dyke's jacket from “Mary Poppins.” 



If you compare the placement of the stripes, it’s a perfect match.



Here’s how the jacket looked when it came up to auction:







The ribbon on the hat does not match though; in the shots of Van Dyke from the movie, the top stripe is red; on Ziffel’s hat it’s gold. Apparently “Green Acres” used Western Costume for some of their wardrobe.

I’ll leave you with this question; why aren’t Disney fans up in arms about Fred Ziffel wearing Bert’s jacket? This information needs to be brought to the headlines!

See more Pop Culture photos at my main website.

Billy Reed’s: A Palm Springs Legend!

If you blink when you enter Palm Springs, you might miss this little time capsule tucked away beneath the trees and bougainvillea. Established December 7, 1975, as the menu states: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner served anytime. This place is old school; we are talking OLD as in you just don’t find places like this anymore. The service is excellent, the menu is expansive AND good, and the prices are affordable, especially when taking into consideration the large portions! And even an oldster like me felt young going here, as I looked around at the customers. Most had walkers, and you could tell they were probably all regulars. This is the kind of place that takes care of their customers and as a result, they come back.



Like many restaurants of its time, there is a covered entrance, perfect for dropping off the family before you park (and those who might have difficulty walking). If you need a restaurant with a hefty social media presence or a whiz bang website, this place is not it. About the most info you’ll find out is gleaned ffrom the short description on their Facebook page (and yes, I corrected the typos):

Billy Reed’s is a palm springs landmark with great food at affordable prices. Billy Reed and Robbie opened Billy Reed’s in 1975. They sold the restaurant in 1987 but remained owners of the property. The 25 year lease was up April 1st 2012 and they bought the restaurant back. As of April 1st Billy Reed and Robbie and new owner David Scott are now managing the restaurant.



Make sure you catch the BR at the entry rails (that stands for Billy Reed’s in case you didn’t figure it out):



Walking in, you feel like you might have taken a turn into the Golden Horseshoe Saloon at Disneyland:



I recommended this restaurant to one of my most faithful readers. This is what he wrote to me after he dined here:

Billy Reed's was a gem in the desert. The outside doesn't forewarn about the interior. You don't even get an idea about what you’re in for until you pull into the lot, go around back and THEN see the entrance, only seem from the non-street facing side. Unreal. Billy said he started collecting when he was a kid and didn't stop. He’s had to expand his restaurant to 3 different locations just to house it all. The food was also the highlight of the trip. There's a lot of good places we ate, I mean everyone goes to Pinocchio's sooner or later but Billy’s was just too good to be kept this quiet. It deserves more attention.



I’m a sucker for red glass light fixtures.



For this visit, I ordered the Chicken Pot Pie En-Toureen with a Crispy Crust. At first, I thought the $21 seemed expensive. But considering the portion and that the price also included a good sized salad and a small loaf of delicious date and nut bread…well, it was more than fair!





The menu does not really give much history, but once you get to the dessert section, the creative touches abound:

A Word From Billy ...IN OUR OWN LITTLE “BAKE SHOP” WE MAKE ALL OUR PASTRIES BY HAND, JUST AS YOUR GRANDMOTHER WISHED SHE COULD MAKE THEM. IT TAKES TIME AND TENDER LOVING CARE. IF WE HAD A FACTORY PERHAPS WE COULD HAVE EVERYTHING, EVERYDAY ... BUT WE DON’T.WE THINK YOU WANT THE VERY BEST PASTRY IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE, SO EVERY DAY WE MAKE AS MUCH AS WE ARE ABLE ... FORGIVE US IF WE RUN OUT. TRY AGAIN, NEXT TIME. ONE SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE SOMETHING SWEET, AND SHARING IS BONDING TOO. AND FOR “GUILDING THE LILLY” ICE CREAM, WHY NOT? IT’S ALSO KNOWN AS “ALA MODE!” WE HAVE BOTH KINDS. VANILLA AND DARK CHOCOLATE CAPPUCCINO. GREAT ON ALL PASTRY.

I especially love the description for the Chocolate Cream Pie:

A VERY DEEP DARK VELVETY CHOCOLATE PUDDING WITH JUST A TOUCH OF MOCHA. TOPPED WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS. IT’S NOT POSSIBLE TO KEEP A PIECE IN THE FRIDGE OVERNIGHT, “THE DEVIL NEVER SLEEPS” BUT YOU WILL WHEN IT’S GONE!

And at the bottom you can see this:

COMPLIMENTARY Boston Cream Pie ON YOUR BIRTHDAY (HONESTY COUNTS)

Good food and complimentary birthday dessert…need I say more?

See more Palm Springs photos at my main website.

Art in the Desert

When one goes to Palm Springs, it’s typically to relax, lay by the pool, and soak up the sunshine (and heat!). On my last few visits, I have noticed that the area surrounding the Art Museum has really become a lovely destination to peruse. This downtown park is where the Forever Marilyn statue was moved to, and the surrounding area has blossomed as a result. If you’re feeling hot, how about sitting underneath these funky shade canopies?



This “art installation” was new to me on my most recent visit. Interesting…



It was ALMOST a full moon that evening…



This area has “Babies on the Move” by artist David Černý. The 8' tall statues are a bit creepy; I for one won’t be disappointed when their temporary stint is over.



The lightning bolt of red was a recent addition to this inaccessible area.



I noticed that there’s one on the Rowan Hotel; maybe this one got lost?



I definitely prefer this “disappearing” statue to the Babies. Walk around it and you’ll see what I mean.



Even the restrooms at the park are designed nicely:



For the younger set, this Grafitti Yard is a cool (not literally) place to hang out:



Not surprisingly, there is a bit of vagrancy in the area, but not anything that kept tourists/locals away when I was strolling through.
 
See more Palm Springs photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Don’t Mess With Shirley!

I know, that’s a lot of acronyms. This behind-the-scenes (aka BTS) shot from Shirley’s 1944 film, “Since You Went Away” (aka SYWA) shows everything the audiences WOULDN’T see when watching the film. This is truly a “Lights! Action! Camera!” image. From the accompanying publicity blurb:

A director affixes his signature of a scene from David O. Selznick’s forthcoming “Since You Went Away.” With straw hat and cigar is John Cromwell, director of the picture, who saved this scene for one of the last of the production. Standing beside him are three of the film’s stars, Jennifer Jones, Claudette Colbert, Shirley Temple. The scene will be just a flash in the finished product.



But what about the guy on the left, the actor who portrayed the hotel desk clerk? Poor Theodore von Eltz got left out of the description. Here are two publicity stills showing the scene where the Hilton family finds out that they have missed seeing their father on leave during World War II.



Von Eltz is nothing but a background blur in this one:



Shirley fans will recognize him as the snooty J. Wellington Smythe, who couldn’t wait to dump poor little orphaned Shirley into the streets in “Bright Eyes” (1934) once her Mom (played by Lois Wilson), his maid, got run over by a car.



Shirley finally got her revenge ten years later; don’t mess with our gal Shirley, or you’ll wind up doing bit parts! And if you think I’m kidding, look at his film roles after “Bright Eyes”; the majority are uncredited.

See more photos at my main website.

Marmont Monday: The Man Behind the Lane

My oasis of the west, the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Ever wondered where the name came from? The word “Chateau” is pretty simple; it’s French for fancy home. If you want to get technical, the noun is…:

a large French country house or castle, often giving its name to wine made in its neighborhood

I’m not aware of any wine being made here, but Attorney Fred Horowitz was inspired by the Chateau Amboise (seen on his recent trip to France) and decided that his apartment complex was going to be modeled after it. It also happens to be where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. Designed by his brother-in-law (a positive example of nepotism), Arnold A. Weitzman, the corner of Marmont Lane and Sunset Boulevard was the location where this seven-story Chateau would be built. “Chateau Horowitz” didn’t seem to have the same amount of appeal as “Chateau Marmont,” so the Attorney decided to name it after the street instead. Want to know where the name of the street came from? First, I’ll tell you the oft told legend. See this guy below chewing on his pipe, silent screen star Percy Marmont:



The British actor had a modestly successful career. Witzel of Hollywood took this moody black and white photo of Percy.



For a little more about Witzel, I found this on the National Portrait Gallery of Australia website:

Witzel Studios was founded in Los Angeles by photographer Albert Walter Witzel (1879–1929) in 1909 and within a few years had become one of the city’s foremost portrait studios. The rise of the business paralleled the emergence of the film industry following its relocation from the east coast, and Witzel was soon in demand from Hollywood studios seeking to create interest in movies by circulating promo shots of their stars. Distinguished by moody lighting and dramatic poses and settings, Witzel’s photos soon set the tone for Hollywood studio photography and from the mid-1910s they featured frequently in fan magazines like Photoplay, becoming an important promotional and publicity tool. Witzel occasionally worked on assignment for the big picture studios, photographing many silent film luminaries including Theda Bara and Charlie Chaplin. Witzel’s business began to decline in the 1920s, by which time the relentless publicity machine had resulted in movie studios employing their own teams of photographers. Witzel Studios folded following Albert Witzel’s death in 1929.

I have often wondered why the Lane was named after Percy Marmont, a now unknown British actor who I assumed must have been traveling in the right social circles at the right time.



And then on the Instagram account LA Street Names I read this:

Marmont Lane was named in 1921 on a tract owned by a dozen investors, none of whom were Percy Marmont. The man himself wouldn’t become a (semi) movie star or even move to Hollywood until late 1923, so there’s zero chance that he inspired this street name. “Marmont” is most likely a portmanteau of mar and monte – Spanish for “sea” and “mountain” – alluding to its hilly views of the Pacific, although two of the tract’s owners were Paul and Zida Marlay, for whom nearby Marlay Drive is named, so the “Mar” might be for them.

Regardless, the address of the Hotel is Sunset Boulevard, but you have to turn onto Marmont Lane to get to it. Go figure.



The Marmont name can be seen on the exterior:



Don’t think that Fred didn’t leave his mark on the apartment building (which converted to a hotel in 1931). See the “H” on the exterior of the wall of Room 54?



Let me zoom in a little closer for you:



And there you have it. The story behind the name. Or at least as much as I could dig up.

See more Chateau Marmont photos at my main website.